So. My Dell Precision laptop (M90) is a little bit (very?) old. So I've decided to get a new one.

After doing a bit of research I've decided not to go with HP, mainly because their shop site is so frustratingly poorly built/designed.

I also looked at Dell and Boxx.

It seems like I could get more bang for my buck with Boxx, especially since the components are more recent. Unfortunately, their current laptop offering has one major issue: it's shipping with a gaming card instead of a Quadro or FirePro. I looked up the SPECviewperf Maya score on the GeForce 675M which they are offering and it is very low (around 10fps). After speaking to them I found out that they don't offer the GoBoxx with a Quadro card yet because they haven't had it certified. They tell me it should be certified within a couple months, but the uncertainty and that time frame don't work for me.

In the end, I've been satisfied with my M90 which lasted 5 years (and still runs, but isn't as powerful as I need/like). I'm also very interested by the touch screen offering on the M6600. The fact that it can be used with a pressure-sensitive stylus is particularly interesting. Though it's probably not as nice as using my Cintiq, I feel like it would be a great alternative for when I'm not at my desktop.

So why am I posting here? Well, I just want to run my build by people that I feel might have some good input! I want to know if you have any suggestions/changes, or if you know of another company that I might want to look into. Keep in mind that though I'm currently in Canada, I'll be buying in the USA, since my parents live there and I'll be moving there to do a Master's degree soon.

Sounds like a good build to me- I was actually pricing out the same system- except was thinking about forking out for the dough at Newegg for RAM: it's 119 vs Dell's 400... and possibly doing the HDDs the same fashion= and just put my own barebones image of Win7 64 on it.... Let you know when it happens= tight on funds ATM so It'll prob be a few months.
CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8G) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Laptop Memory Model CMSX16GX3M2A1600C10

CKPinson

06-26-2012, 11:42 PM

Also- there is a coupon code for $50 off and another you can use with it to take off 30%- ends up being a steal!!! google Dell Precision Coupon Codes= it's one of those links... looks like a sketchy link but I just cut and paste the codes and they worked for me- brought it below Dell's discount.

Raphaeltm

06-27-2012, 02:37 AM

Thanks for the tips! I'll look into those!

I'm actually thinking of trading in the touchscreen for a better GPU. Especially after reading this review (http://www.cgchannel.com/2012/04/review-dell-precision-m6600-mobile-workstation/) which suggests that the touchscreen is kindof awkward.

I'll be getting the Quadro 4000M instead :)

CKPinson

06-27-2012, 03:19 AM

Nice find. I use my Intuos with my laptop- I place it on the keyboard and usually works out but sometimes depresses the keys beneath it. One of the reasons I was thinking about going Microsoft Surface Tablet- Because then I could just detach the keyboard. Not sure tho- have to wait and see- plus still considering the Cintiq. My current laptop was only 499 LOL at Stapples and you know what is not bad although it does not have a GPU. It's primarily for remote work to my company servers etc. This is why I am considering the Dell Precision. and the other reason why I am considering the Intuos 5 over the Cintiq, price and portability- but I've always wanted a Cintiq since the first one and until now haven't been able to afford one.

I totally think you are right about the touchscreen capabilities-

Money better spent on GPU upgrade or even RAM.

CKPinson

06-27-2012, 03:40 AM

Really should consider the minimum RAM and maybe even HDDs because you could buy them much cheaper at Newegg= 256 GB SATA III SSD runs 250 (Samsung) and RAM I've already proven=

So you spend 720 on Hard drive upgrades alone. for 455 at Newegg you get a 250GB SSD boot and 2x750GB HDD granted the MOB supports it but it should since they have the options at Dell- if not- choose a smaller pair. So that saves you 260 and gives you nearly 2 TB (1.75) space vs 760GB

460 for RAM. DAM for 119 saves you 341

You could save 601 bucks and give you 1 TB more storage space. Not to mention better parts.

This is the route I plan to take- just have to look into all the compatibility angles but that's not too hard. So for that kinda money savings you could still opt for the touch screen or another larger Dell IPS panel to dongle to, something I've thought of

Raphaeltm

06-27-2012, 07:05 AM

Yeah, I'd considered grabbing stuff off of newegg. Especially because of the steep price on the HDDs.

Right now my main problem with that is that it's convenient to have dell set up the raid and the msata drive. Though I do know how to put things together (my desktop rig was built by myself from the ground up) with a laptop, I prefer not to meddle, just because I find them more complicated.

That is a lot of saved money though...... =\

imashination

06-27-2012, 08:48 AM

Just so youre aware, you realise that thing will weigh an absolute ton right? 17", 3x harddrives, the bulky power supply

CKPinson

06-27-2012, 02:17 PM

I hear ya, not for everyone. I am doing this kind of stuff on laptops and desktops all the time at work.

also he is right about it weighing a ton but it does come with better gpu options than the 15. Even the 15 weighs quiet a bit.

imashination

06-27-2012, 02:25 PM

well its just given the variables, price, speed, weight... I cant see any reason I would ever go for 3x harddrives in a laptop, especially when theyre just mediocre 300gig drives. Id look at a single 500gig ssd instead. Itll be far lighter, use less battery, run much faster... Given a 512 gig ssd is £300 inc tax, I dont see how 3x harddrives beats it in any way.

Raphaeltm

06-27-2012, 02:27 PM

Just so youre aware, you realise that thing will weigh an absolute ton right? 17", 3x harddrives, the bulky power supply

Yeah. I do. But that's not really much of a consideration for me. The point isn't really to have something ultra portable so much as to have a full-powered workstation I can drag to multiple locations. (Didn't do it on purpose, but the word "drag" is particularly appropriate here, isn't it? xD )

However, the primary drive is an msata drive. So it shouldn't add much weight.

Raphaeltm

06-27-2012, 03:11 PM

well its just given the variables, price, speed, weight... I cant see any reason I would ever go for 3x harddrives in a laptop, especially when theyre just mediocre 300gig drives. Id look at a single 500gig ssd instead. Itll be far lighter, use less battery, run much faster... Given a 512 gig ssd is £300 inc tax, I dont see how 3x harddrives beats it in any way.

Thanks for the response :)

First off, I like separating my data and my OS/Software. Makes it easier to manage OS upgrades and software changes (I like formatting and reinstalling the OS about once a year). For that reason, regardless what type of drive I choose, I would need at least two.

I have to buy at least one drive from Dell, otherwise I can't order the computer. Dell is charging $970 (i know. ridiculous.) for it's 512GB SSD. So there's no way I'm buying that from them. What I really want is the little 128GB msata drive (to leave the two main drive bays available). And they're not charging a whole bunch for that. However, they require the selection of at least one other drive if I choose the msata. I could just get one 320GB drive, and then replace it with, or add, a 512GB SSD from Newegg, but even with the cheaper prices on Newegg ($400), that would cost me more than just adding a second 320GB drive and having it installed in a RAID 0 array. Since I tend to fill up drives very quickly it just seems like this is the cheapest way to get good performance and a good amount of storage.

I will definitely be keeping your advice in mind though! It's definitely true that if I can find a way to get a 512GB SSD for cheaper without having to buy the dell drive, that would be a great option.

CKPinson

06-27-2012, 03:39 PM

At the very least save the near 400 on RAM and do that yourself- it's way to easy to install- honestly RAM and HDD are very easy- especially if you're just doing additional HDD and not the boot drive-

Heat would be my main concern with additional HDD- SSD dont get hot like the regular HDD but still- also consider that the HDD bay is on the bottom of the laptop= more heat in your lap, green hdd are as fast but they conserve energy therefore may not produce as much heat; however, I noticed that if I have connected to one in a while then do- the first time usually takes additional seconds to access it (map).

You could always order the SSD for the boot then add blank HDD for storage or raid later- usually just a matter of a small Phillips screw here and there- also need the SATA connection adapters- cheap...

I doubt Dell uses different MOBs per machine so all should be well. Like was mentioned above- one large HDD would be better than 2 for power and heat alone- think battery life...

Raphaeltm

06-27-2012, 04:30 PM

At the very least save the near 400 on RAM and do that yourself- it's way to easy to install- honestly RAM and HDD are very easy- especially if you're just doing additional HDD and not the boot drive-

Heat would be my main concern with additional HDD- SSD dont get hot like the regular HDD but still- also consider that the HDD bay is on the bottom of the laptop= more heat in your lap, green hdd are as fast but they conserve energy therefore may not produce as much heat; however, I noticed that if I have connected to one in a while then do- the first time usually takes additional seconds to access it (map).

You could always order the SSD for the boot then add blank HDD for storage or raid later- usually just a matter of a small Phillips screw here and there- also need the SATA connection adapters- cheap...

I doubt Dell uses different MOBs per machine so all should be well. Like was mentioned above- one large HDD would be better than 2 for power and heat alone- think battery life...

Good points there.

I don't usually have a problem with installing stuff, especially since the HDDs are usually easy to just slide into their bay. I don't know what I'm doing with an msata drive though, so I'm a little bit worried about having to install that.

After checking out RAM pricing, I'm definitely going to buy that off of Newegg.

I'm still in a bit of a dilemma as far as the hard drive goes though. By having the msata drive installed by dell, I'm forced to get another drive from them, minimum $240 which I won't be able to get back.

If I knew how to install an msata drive, I would be fine with ordering the bare minimum 320GB drive and getting an SSD and msata SSD after the fact, but I didn't even know msata existed until I decided to get this thing! :P

CKPinson

06-28-2012, 01:44 AM

Are you sure about them being mSATA? Only heard of a few MOBs with mSATA- one I recently worked with was Asus's P8Z77-V Premium which had mSata built into the board (32GB) and I believe this standard supports a max of 64 GB-

From the manufacturer::: ASUS goes one step further and includes a PCIe 3.0 switch to enable quad-CF/SLI support despite the limited number (16) of PCIe lanes Intel's LGA-1155 CPUs provide. ASUS' board features all the bells and whistles including a 32GB Marvell based Liteon mSATA SSD

I highly doubt Dell uses a high end board with mSATA built in- not likely. To keep pricing down they tend to use cheaper RAM and HDDs- at least in the mainstream ones I am constantly repairing (Not to fault Dell, we have a lot of idiots toting these around).

Raphaeltm

06-28-2012, 04:50 AM

It definitely supports msata! :) That's the only reason you can configure it with three drives. There are two normal hard drive bays and one space for an msata.

When you configure the computer, you should see a 128GB msata in the primary drive options. Also, you can see here (http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-latitude-vostro-precision/597919-m6600-owners-review-warning-large-pics-personal-opinions.html)

Also, I've found at least this one (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226321) with 240GB. Nothing higher though.

And I'm pretty sure the Precision line is built with higher-end components than the mainstream ones. (though I have nothing to back this up)

CKPinson

06-28-2012, 05:10 AM

yeah, did a little research rite quick- msata is swappable but it's location is unreachable (meaning void warranty and near speaker).= so definately don't screw with that= also= msata has gotten a real bad rap- gonna have to look into this further- at least the other sata connections on the precision are SATA3= that makes me happy!

CKPinson

06-28-2012, 05:12 AM

Gotta say, the screen on these is very nice= and I do like my Dell monitors at home/work.

Raphaeltm

06-28-2012, 05:06 PM

Yeah, actually, what I've decided is I'm going to get the minimum RAM and then buy 16GB (2x8GB) on newegg. (That way I can easily add more later as the computer gets older and software reqs inevitably get higher)

Also, for the hard drive, I've decided to stay away from the msata, buy the computer configured with a 750GB HDD and purchase a 256GB SSD from newegg.

I've also decided to get the IPS display. I hear it's great and since I also do a good deal of freelance photography, it might come in handy to have a high quality monitor on the laptop.

CKPinson

06-28-2012, 05:14 PM

Sounds like a great build and you'll be saving a bundle.

CKPinson

06-30-2012, 02:35 AM

To bad they don't have an IPS Panel in a consumer laptop- I love my ATI card- even handles MARI- the Asus Zenbook has an IPS panel but no dam graphics worth a flip.

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